According to the latest “Report on the Internet Economy” by web researcher eNET – Telekom, based on data collected in October last year, almost 900,000 Hungarians have used roaming for activities requiring mobile data, with 37% of respondents reporting using mobile data in another EU country only since the scrapping of roaming fees in the European Union from June 15, 2017. 

The survey shows the most common reason for mobile data roaming is e-mail (85%), with instant messaging maintaining a high place on the list as well (71%), national news agency MTI reported.

Mobile data roaming is also essential for being informed while abroad: 81% of respondents said they use GPS or online maps for navigation, 77% look up information online, 68% browse the internet, and 67% check the weather forecast using mobile internet.

Nearly 2.5 million adult Hungarian internet users have used roaming for making or receiving calls, and 1.8 million for texting. Although both figures are much higher than the number of mobile data roamers, the expansion in their number since the scrapping of roaming fees has been significantly smaller.

Of all respondents who report having used roaming for phone calls, 12% had never done so before the policy change, while this number was even smaller, only 7%, for texters.